Before Happiness - The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change

*Starred Review* There have been many books published on happiness, an elusive goal for many of us. And there will be many more added to shelves after Achor’s second book (the first being The Happiness Advantage, 2010). Yet, truly, there was no primer on how to factually, practically achieve positive genius until this former Harvard researcher zeroed in. The concept is fairly simple: change is possible only when we link our lives to others. That positivity, in turn, results from applying five factors to change your reality: (1) choose the most valuable reality, (2) map your meaning markets, (3) find the x-spot, (4) cancel the noise, and (5) create positive inception. In layperson speak, consider these points: do something prosocial—i.e., for others—and shift your attitude. Use a treasure map, a way to chart your success path. Keep your eyes on the beach, not the rocks. Exercise—to eliminate noise and distractions from your life. And use humor everywhere. Every one of his suggestions is accompanied by personal anecdotes, others’ stories, psychological research, and just plain facts and figures. It’s an extraordinarily compelling argument to actively work on changing mindsets. --Barbara Jacobs

In this remarkable book, one of the leading thinkers in the field of positive psychology digs deep into the science to find practical techniques for unleashing your genius for happiness. So forget about cheap gimmicks and gooey affirmations. Instead, listen to Shawn Achor -- and prepare to take notes!"
-- Daniel H. Pink, author of DRIVE, TO SELL IS HUMAN, and A WHOLE NEW MIND


“Shawn Achor, one of our greatest positive psychologists for the workplace, has done it again. With his characteristic blend of academic rigor and twinkle in the eye, Achor will change your view of happiness, of reality -- and of yourself.” 
--Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking


Before Happiness is the book that positive psychology fans have been waiting to read. Shawn Achor, the leading light in bringing the science of happiness to work, offers his signature blend of eye-opening research insights, entertaining stories, and infectious enthusiasm. This fresh, uplifting book is filled with ideas for improving our organizations and our lives.
 -Adam Grant, Wharton professor and bestselling author of Give and Take

"Shawn Achor is a positive genius who is capable of taking complex academic research and making it come to life in companies and schools across the globe."
-Tony Hsieh, bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos.com, Inc.

 
In Before Happiness, Shawn Achor provides simple, scientifically sound strategies built around three key factors most of us undervalue: where we choose to put our attention, how much social support we build into our lives, and whether we view stress as a challenge rather than a threat.  
--Tony Schwartz, best-selling author of The Power of Full Engagement and Be Excellent at Anything


“Read this book before you buy any other self-improvement title. For anyone who wants to find more meaning, achievement, and joy in life, this is the single best place to start."
-Tom Rath, Bestselling author of StrengthsFinder 2.0 and Eat Move Sleep

"Achor infuses Before Happiness with empirical evidence, anecdotes and studies showing that even a simple adjustment in thinking impacts our outlook and how we’re perceived. ...The book offers insights and ideas for adjusting your angle of vision so you open the door to happiness and success." -Success Magazine

-"A must read" - The Washington Times

As I've gotten older, I've become more focused on doing what makes me happy and fulfilled, rather than doing what others' think I should be doing. This is the second book that I've read about happiness, the first being Gretchen Rubin's, "The Happiness Project." I didn't care for Gretchen's book because I felt it was all about Gretchen whining. I am happy to say that I loved this book!

I really enjoyed this book. Here's why:

* Shawn's practical advice and exercises on how to think about your happiness. Sure, I've read lots of self-improvement books, but this was one of the few where the exercises really resonated with me. He breaks it down into 5 steps or skills:

1. Choosing the Most Valuable Reality
2. Mapping Your Success Route
3. Finding Success Accelerants
4. Eliminating Negative Noise
5. Transferring Your Positive Reality to Others.

* Shawn makes the concepts reality by his concrete examples. For example, I love the idea of mapping your life, e.g. your current workplace or city. It forces you to really think about your environment and what is important to you.

* The nice mixture of research showing happiness factors and Shawn's personal stories. It makes Shawn appear very sincere. He obviously believes in this stuff.

* The down to earth style. It's as though Shawn is sitting down and having a conversation with you about happiness.

* It inspired me to dig deeper. Of course, I'm going to read Shawn's first book, "The Happiness Advantage." I'm also going to read the other books he suggests. I just love it when one book leads me to a lot of others on the same topic.

I'm glad that I read this book before his first book, "The Happiness Advantage," since this book gives a good framework for finding your true happiness.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to lead a more fulfilling life.

If you Google "Investment advice" you will get over one hundred and fifty million different sites to check out. If you were to investigate just a few, you would find much conflicting information. Do the same for "happiness" and you get even more sites and more conflicting information. One of the problems we have today is that we are bombarded with information - but so much of it is conflicting. Most of us are lacking an objective method of separating the helpful from the noise.

Shawn Achor, the author of Before Happiness, is a highly acclaimed positive psychologist. He is also the author of a previous book - The Happiness Advantage. His passion is the study of happiness - discovering what really leads to happiness and also discovering those things that block our way.

In Before Happiness, he gives us 5 key methods to better understand how we can create more happiness in our own lives and the lives of those around us.

The first key is to understand that we create our own reality by what we focus on. We can choose to focus on the negative things in life or we can choose to take a more positive approach. He is not advocating irrational optimism - which he says is delusional. "Your reality is a choice; what you choose to focus on shapes how you perceive and interpret your world."

The second key is the meaning we assign to things in life - Mr. Achor calls them meaning markers. You will learn how to set better goals based on what is meaningful to you and your life.

The third key is what he calls the X-Spot. This concept is best illustrated by the kick a marathon runner gets when they see the finish line in sight. They get a burst of energy to finish the race. It does not matter what goal you set, when you near the goal, you get a boost in your energy level. One of the lessons to take from this is to set near-term goals. Setting more and shorter goals will increase the number of X-Spots and will move you quicker toward your goal.

The fourth key is noise cancelling. When you do a Google search, you get lots of information - some good - and Mr. Achor calls them signals and some not that good which he calls noise. There are four keys to separating signals from noise.

Can you use the information to alter your current behavior? If not, it is noise.

Are you going to use the information immediately?

Is the information hypothetical? Just someone's opinion? If so, it's noise.

Does it distract you from your goals? If so, it's noise.

You will note that most "news programs" are mostly noise. So is gossip and many TV programs. Learn to cut down the noise in your life.

The fifth key is to spread the positive mindset you have created with the other four keys.

This book is a delight to read, filled with many interesting examples based on extensive and up to date research in the field of positive psychology. For anyone truly interested in learning more about happiness and what you need to do to bring more happiness into your life and your work, this is a valuable resource.

Mr. Achor writes with a real sense of humor - something he says we all need to bring more happiness into our lives. He also shares many personal stories from his own experiences that help illustrate his points. Very insightful and informative as well as entertaining.